Pastor MacWilliams' Latest Letter, Dated September 17, 2001You are encouraged to copy this letter and share it with others in the congregation who might not have access to a computer, or the Internet.
After the tragedy of September 11th, I have followed the interviews with the survivors with great interest. In many cases, they could not understand why THEY had survived while their colleagues perished. Having heard between twenty and thirty so far, I have not found ANY one of them giving credit to the Lord. They have attributed their survival to, among other things, LUCK, DETERMINATION NOT TO DIE, CHANCE, DEDICATION OF FIREMEN, and GOOD TIMING.
One of the signs that a nation is tender, pliable, repentant, or ready to get closer to God is that its' people will give God credit for what good things He has done. Judging from the interviews which were on TV, not one survivor even credited God with saving them because of the prayers of someone else. For all the candles being burned, all the supposed "coming together" America has done (we'll see in 9 months how real this was), and all the prayers supposedly being uttered, there is something seriously lacking.
It may be that God permitted thousands of people to escape, each giving their own reasons for their survival, so that we Christians can see the REAL condition of the country, and become more serious in the work of God because we see the handwriting on the wall. Let's put aside the false imagery that America is turning to God, and the usually unspiritual use of the phrase, "God bless America," for just a moment. This country is not currently in a mode of returning to its' foundation of faith in God.
If a person who came to within a milli-second of dying in the WTC, who knows people were praying for him, fails to account that God had anything to do with his survival, I'd have to conclude that that person NO LONGER HAD THE ABILITY to respond to the most powerful and forceful wake-up call of his life. If he didn't cry out to God then, and give God his faith under THOSE conditions, what would it take ? Multiply that case by the thousands of survivors who don't see God as a factor in their lives, and what you have is evidence that our society has become too hardened to respond to the Holy Spirit ! Of course, there may be a few exceptions, but you get the picture. God painted it so you can see that we are almost at the end of our time of gleaning for souls.
Nevertheless, until the Lord calls us home or moves us to another continent or people, we still have an important work to do right here in America. It is to reach that RARE situation where a man, woman, or young person still has the sensitivity to respond to the Spirit of God calling them to Salvation.
It is easy to fill a church with people who are led to believe that they will be handed something free from God, and that God will not require anything from them. Churches do it all the time. Certain types of churches are filled with people who seek excitement in their lives, momentary stability, some convenient sense of joy and peace, and these people will usually settle for less than what God wants to give them. This week, we have seen people seeking the comfort of God, and asking God to protect them from a similar fate that happened to over 5,000 people that dreadful Tuesday morning. But keep in mind that they didn't come asking, "God what would you have me do ?" Or, "What must I do to be saved ?" No matter how many candles were burned this week by saddened mourners, it is mostly for selfish reasons that people showed any interest in God at all.
The Scripture I mentioned at the beginning of this letter in Ezekiel 38 related to the soon-coming Russian invasion of Israel. It shows that instead of defending Israel--which we have promised by Treaty to do--we sit back and do nothing. Why ? There are two possible reasons. (1). The terrorists--Muslims who want the USA to stop supporting Israel--have succeeded in convincing this country that we should stop our support of Israel. That could only come when the will of our people is broken by many more terrible acts of terrorism on our shores. Or, (2). The United States has become so incapable militarily and/or economically, that we CANNOT go to Israel's defense. Under that scenario, it could have been a number of enemies which brought this about, not necessarily just the terrorists.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT. BUT--for those who know the Lord Jesus, the future is bright ! We know that the Lord is coming soon. The events themselves SHOUT it ! That fact will motivate us to become more serious in our commitment to Him, and we should redouble our efforts to reach any souls which are still sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit. Brethren, our work is cut out for us, and we need to be busy doing the sacred work God has given each of us to do. When it is time for us to leave this earth, it won't take a search and rescue crew to let us know--we'll simply open our eyes in Heaven and know our work on earth is done.
Thanks again to each of you who have been working together--without asking for recognition or appreciation--for the glory of God at Solid Rock Bible Church !
There will be a great day of reward for each of you who put God first in your life !
Pastor Ed
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